


Don't Take My Sunshine Away

by emperorpenguin (dortmundbvbbabe)



Category: Hockey RPF
Genre: Established Relationship, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Olli's POV
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-23
Updated: 2016-12-23
Packaged: 2018-09-11 08:23:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,234
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8971684
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dortmundbvbbabe/pseuds/emperorpenguin
Summary: Olli's said it before, he's never seen Justin have a bad day. It's not that Justin doesn't have them though, it's just that he never shows Olli this side of him. After a rough game in Edmonton where Justin receives a frosty welcome, though, it's clear that Justin's upset, but he won't open up to Olli- he won't open up to anyone. But maybe, this time, Olli will be able to break throw Justin's remaining walls and comfort him for once.





	

He had said it himself. He’d never seen Justin have a bad day. It was only those who knew him well who could detect the hint of bitterness in Olli’s voice as he said it. Justin didn’t have bad days, or if he did he didn’t share them with Olli. 

They’d had a teammate though who was literally nicknamed Sunshine and even he had had bad days. But Justin didn’t. 

Olli sighed. He wouldn’t say that they had had fights about this before, because they didn’t really fight, but it was certainly a point of contention between them. There were days when Justin would stay later, later than Olli even and tell him to go ahead home and that he’d catch up later. Then there were the days when some philosophical piece from Edmonton would be published about why Justin was successful at Pittsburgh and not in Edmonton. There were the not-so-subtle suggestions that this had all been a ploy to get traded from Edmonton, that Justin hadn’t been committed to the team, that he hadn’t  _ wanted _ it enough. Olli was always hesitant to approach Justin about these papers. He was never sure if Justin had read them and in the case that he hadn’t, Olli didn’t want to send him searching for them.

Olli always read them though. He cringed every time he read the words, “last year, Justin Schultz was considered the worst player in the NHL.” He knew about the Steve Simmons piece that had all but said Justin was incompetent. He knew that he shouldn’t even bother with them. Instead, he should be reading the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette who were singing Justin’s praises, but instead, he scoured the corners of the Internet to see everything, just in case Justin had read them.

There was a difference in this line of work between legitimate criticism and just flat out scapegoating. What had happened to Justin had largely been the latter, but since the Stanley Cup win and Justin’s point streak. 

What was between them was relatively new. Olli’s brother had suspected that it had started during the Cup run, but in reality it had only transformed from friendship into dating after pre-season training. It was hesitant at first. A series of chaste kisses was connected by unspoken questions: Are we together? Are you sure? Is this really happening? Until one night, they’re in their apartment complex and Olli pressed the button for Justin’s floor first and then went to go press the eighth floor button, but was stopped by Justin’s hand reaching out for his own. Olli stopped to look at Justin who wasn’t quite matching his gaze. “Don’t go home today, okay?”

When they were in the privacy of Justin’s apartment, Justin pressed Olli up against the wall, kissing him heatedly. It was that night that their relationship had solidified into something more than just road hookups or friends giving each other a hand. Justin had grinned as Olli gently stroked his hair in bed that night in bed and his eyes had crinkled with happiness. It was in that moment that Olli had thought he wanted to make Justin so, so happy. 

And he did, but there were things that Justin didn’t share with him. At first, he thought it was because the relationship was new and they were still testing the waters with each other, only gradually letting down their barriers for the other to see their flaws. Justin had wrapped his arms around Olli when he burst out about losing playing time early in the season. Olli had fit snugly between Justin’s arms as Justin just held him tightly. In that moment their age gap was exaggerated even more.

But there was never a time for Olli to reciprocate it. Despite Justin’s easygoing personality, there were critiques that surfaced to the top of his mentions. He was called out for holding back in Edmonton, for riding on the coattails of the team’s success, of “leeching” off of the offensive streak. Olli was certain that Justin knew about them especially after some of the reporters referred to them in post-game interviews, but Justin never talked to Olli about it. 

The question ricocheted in Olli’s brain even as their relationship progressed. He loved Justin, and trusted him, but the trust wasn’t reciprocated, at least not fully.

One night, as they were sitting side by side on the couch watching Sunday night football when the question terrorized Olli’s thoughts. 

“Do you love me?” Olli asked. Justin turned away from the television and stared at Olli curiously.  

“Yes?” He replied hesitantly as if he was wary of how the conversation was going to go. 

Olli smiled, “Good, I love you, too.”

“I know,” Justin said and furrowed his eyebrows. 

“I really do love you,” Olli said.

“I know, what prompted this?” Justin asked. 

“Just, you know you can tell me anything, right?” Olli said seriously. 

“Yeah, I know,” Justin said with a smile and a gentle kiss that made Olli think that he was just imagining it. 

 

Then there’s  _ the game _ . Olli had quietly tried to check-in with Justin before the met the Oilers in Edmonton. It wasn’t the first time back, but nevertheless Justin had left on bad terms and Olli wasn’t sure that things had changed. Justin hadn’t talked much about Edmonton choosing to focus on the “here and now” instead. Olli hoped that it would be a game just like any other and they’d fly back home.

Instead, it was awful.

Every time Justin touched the puck the crowd erupted in riotous boos. Olli glanced over at Justin when they were both on the bench and could see the tight set of his jaw. “Don’t pay attention to them,” Olli whispered during an intermission, but he knew that it was easier said than done. 

“I’ve heard worse,” Justin said. 

But that doesn’t mean it’s okay, Olli wanted to say, but instead just followed in Justin’s footsteps to the locker room.

During the third period, though, things just got worse. Justin had hit Nuge- a clean hit- but one that had stalled the play. They were on the other side of the rink and it was hard to see from Olli’s vantage point, but Nuge shoved Justin and yelled something unintelligible and Justin didn’t even retaliate. Neither of them were fighters, but when Colesy skated over, Olli knew that things had escalated. The game continued, but it didn’t escape Olli that when Justin came off the next time, he looked like he’d been punched. 

Even though they won that night 4-1, Olli still felt like they lost. 

He’d waited until they were back at the hotel to try to talk to Justin. Before heading over, Olli grabbed a bag of chips and a Snickers bar from the vending machine knowing that he’d be hungry. 

“I’m just going to go to bed I think,” Justin said. 

“Do you want to talk about it?” Olli asked. 

Justin just grinned a fake, overly cheesy smile that Olli knew was just a facade. “Nothing to talk about.”

“Okay, well, here, I thought you might be hungry,” Olli said as he handed over the snacks. 

“Thanks, good night, then,” Justin said. 

“Yeah, good night.” 

Olli wandered back down the hall towards his room, but he saw Sid heading over to Justin’s. Maybe if Olli wasn’t privy to Justin’s thoughts, than maybe at least Sid was. 

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fic of these two, but I really love them both and if you all like it, please comment and let me know because I might do a multichapter of them as well if this one goes over well.


End file.
